Sturgis advertiser. (Sturgis, Dakota [S.D.]) 1887-1???, 1887-11-30

Li.son The streets Of sbs sBattismented
is;e Town.


All agree In calling Hyderabad the
most interesting city in India. It il
the people themselves, the street life,
the medieval pageants and pomp,
which fascinate. Everything seems to
have stood still for centuries. One
seems plunged suddenly into the age
of the cavaliers. The town is battle
mented and ditcbed and jealously
guarded. Ia fact, a permit from the
residents is necessary for Europeans
who wish to eI1ler the walls.
Once over the bridge spanning the
half-dry stream, where elephants are
splashing in the deep pools and hum
dreds or .sdhobies' are pounding and
scrubbing the linen OF the Hyderabadee
households, and what Kaleidoscope
tumble meets the eye in the densels
crowded streets. There are long rows
of low, whitewashed buildings, with
facades of Saracenic arches, under
which the merchants squat among piles
OF cotton goods, silks, carpets, brass
ware, gram, etc, sucking meuitatiyely
the amber mouthpiece OF the inevitable
s'hubble-bubble;'' money changers
chewing betel-leaf and rafting their
bags of "hallisicLer" rapees, or Jumps
OF rough-cut silver and copper. On
the fiat, terraced roofs yelled women
are curiously peering at the moving
throng below through latiiced screens
reminding one of Stamboul or Cairo.
Elephants gorgeously caprisoned,
saddled with silver showdah," in
which ..nawabs' clad in brilliantly en-
broidered silks and veivets, rtcline on
cushions; camels on which are perched
the Arab soldiers of the Nizam, armed
with lance and shield; prancing little
horses from The Persian gulf, mounted
by sharp-featured parsees, bankers or
great merchants, are seen, while the
multi-colorad throng of pedestrians,
Enthusiastically array ed, or scarce arrayed
az all, as the case may be, rells un-
ceasingly to and fro.
To the uninitiated stranger it would
seem that the whole population is about
to rush forth to do battle with some in
visible enemy. for all are fercely, alarm
ingly hung with murderous weapons,
from the great noble, with his bejewel-
ed napier. dashing BY, followed by his
escort of Arab cavalry. with swords
drawn or lances bent, to the peaceful
"ryot' who has brought in his little
harvest of fruit or grain, u spear and
shield in his hand, and wearing a Cir
die full of cleaning knives and ancient
pistols, and from the Njzam with
sword-hilt scintillating with the gems
of yonder Golconda treasure house, to
the ..sais, who runs before your ele-
phant, dagger between his teeth. A
poor devil may have no cloak, no tur-
ban, but he is sure to have q couple OF
long-hladed knives thrust into his mea-
ger loIn-cloth, or long barrelled
Arabian gun slung over his bare shout
der. Fastened on the persons of the
Hyderabadees one sees every variety
of death-dealing weapon--the curved
cimeter, Jagged "tul var" double-edged
crusader. undulating blades of blush
steel, perfdious, slim stilettos and battle
axes. with every conceivable form OF
modern AMI ancient gun and pistol,
blunderbuss and Matchbox. Many
carry round shields of transparent rhi-
noceros hide, gilded and painted or of
steel deliberately incrusted with grace.
full designs of gold and silver.